As talk of artificial intelligence (AI) and cognitive computing swirls in the marketplace, hype explodes, followed by disappointment and eventually, rationalized expectation. This session separates fact from hype and science fiction, investigates viable product categories, applications and use cases that can drive business results today, and finally, provides solution roadmap alternatives.

About this course: Course Description What is our role in the universe as human agents capable of knowledge? What makes us intelligent cognitive agents seemingly endowed with consciousness? This is the second part of the course'Philosophy and the Sciences', dedicated to Philosophy of the Cognitive Sciences. Scientific research across the cognitive sciences has raised pressing questions for philosophers. The goal of this course is to introduce you to some of the main areas and topics at the key juncture between philosophy and the cognitive sciences.

One of the biggest challenges facing any insurance provider is the very real risk of insurance fraud. In 2014, UK insurers uncovered 130,000 fraudulent claims worth £1.32 billion across all insurance products. This danger shows no sign of slowing either, with professional and opportunistic insurance fraud numbers still on the rise. So, how can insurers effectively analyse data help to combat insurance fraud? A major insurance company has proactively combatted fraud before a fraudulent claim is filed or before they would even offer the customer a policy.

Unlike past advancements that largely brought more speed and performance to well-established infrastructure, cognitive computing promises an entirely new data ecosystem. This puts the CIO in a unique position to define and deploy the very technology that could redefine their own role in the enterprise. According to the most recent Harvey Nash / KPMG CIO Survey, the changes brought about by the desire for digital leadership in the enterprise are already starting to reveal themselves. By an almost two-to-one margin, CIOs at digitally enabled organizations are leading the development of new business strategies, and these companies are four times more likely to invest in cognitive automation than organizations where the CIO is not leading the transition process. In other words, cognitive computing is critical to a CIO's future success.

The rapid development of so-called NBIC technologies – nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology and cognitive science – are giving rise to possibilities that have long been the domain of science fiction. Disease, ageing and even death are all human realities that these technologies seek to end. They may enable us to enjoy greater "morphological freedom" – we could take on new forms through prosthetics or genetic engineering. Or advance our cognitive capacities. We could use brain-computer interfaces to link us to advanced artificial intelligence (AI). Nanobots could roam our bloodstream to monitor our health and enhance our emotional propensities for joy, love or other emotions.

Along with Machine Learning and Semantics technology, Cognitive Computing has given renewed impetus to Artificial Intelligence processes and has brought unique advantages to the business world and the general user. Cognitive computing can recognize human language and speech to make sense of human behaviour and offer intelligent solutions for businesses of any kind. AI personal assistants, for example, use cognitive processes to extract meaning out of phrases in text or even via facial and speech recognition and enhance the process of data mining to suggest recommendations for customers (based on an analysis of their search engine history) and of course businesses that cater to consumers. The Cognitive processes of AI mimic the neural pathways of the human brain and help businesses predict fluctuations in customer demand, anticipate future mass trends, and also detect a crisis before it can occur; they can thus also optimize the company infrastructure and realign it along with business policy to discover previously unknown strategies that can attract multiple audiences from different demographics, help company levels collaborate more efficiently (also thanks to the Cloud), or diversify to explore new avenues of opportunity, and thrive to be one step ahead of competitors (big or small). Cogito is an excellent example of a cognitive technology software offered by companies such as Expert System, and comprises all the necessary algorithms and application modules that have a high degree of technological compatibility with various systems.

When IBM's Watson triumphed on Jeopardy! in 2011, it was a major validation of the potential of artificial intelligence and a sign of things to come. But Watson didn't stop there, said IBM's Jay Di Silvestri, speaking at a CDW Summit on "Modernizing IT Infrastructure for Digital Transformation" in Las Vegas on Monday. In the six years since, IBM's AI experts have sought to answer the question, What else can Watson do? "That group immediately turned its sights to say, 'What can we do that is as impressive, but different?'" said Di Silvestri, IBM's Watson platform adoption leader. Watson's next challenge, IBM decided, would be unstructured text, and Di Silvestri said that applications are already on the market for organizations that want to leverage AI to improve customer service and operations. The next phase of Watson is a logical one, he said: deconstructing the technology behind Watson into services that help businesses.

The rapid development of so-called NBIC technologies – nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology and cognitive science – are giving rise to possibilities that have long been the domain of science fiction. Disease, ageing and even death are all human realities that these technologies seek to end. They may enable us to enjoy greater'morphological freedom' – we could take on new forms through prosthetics or genetic engineering. The rapid development of NBIC technologies – nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology and cognitive science – are giving rise to possibilities that have been the domain of science fiction. 'Transhumanism' is the idea that humans should transcend their current natural state and limitations through the use of technology – that we should embrace self-directed human evolution. If the history of technological progress can be seen as humankind's attempt to tame nature to better serve its needs, transhumanism is the logical continuation: the revision of humankind's nature to better serve its fantasies.

Roni Dvir from Amdocs focuses on making AI work for service providers. Will the dawn of the era of artificial intelligence (AI) herald a timely demise of the customer complaints department? While perhaps a tad optimistic, service providers know that when it comes to AI its potential is too huge to be measured. Despite the hype around its benefits, though, there remains much confusion about how to make AI work for both service providers and their customers. So what exactly is AI?

Runaway cloud computing cost may be causing an information technology industry crisis. Expanding requirements, extended transition schedules and misleading marketplace hype have made "Transformation" a dirty word. Questions about how to manage cost variances and deviations with assets and cost across different suppliers abound. A recent Cloud Tech article explained that while public cloud offers considerable cost savings in comparison to private or on-premises based alternatives, there may also be significant hidden costs. Operational features like auto-scaling can cause costs to soar in line with demand for resources, making predicting costs difficult and budgeting even harder.